3M Company plans a $57.6 million, 44,000 square foot, expansion project at its manufacturing plant in Brookings, South Dakota.

The latest expansion includes $40.2 million in new, high-tech automated equipment to manufacture medical tapes and dressings. Construction of the addition will begin in April 2015 and equipment installations are planned through the end of 2018. The project will also add 60 jobs to the facility by 2019, bringing the total workforce at 3M Brookings to more than 1,000, according to Brookings Economic Development Corporation.

The company entered the second phase of its capital investment, which will add jobs, millions of dollars in new equipment and include a major addition at the company’s flagship plant for health care products, local economic development officials noted. By making innovative, quality products, the 3M Brookings plant helps address major forces in the health care market, providing better health outcomes for more people worldwide.

“Our plant and equipment investments at Brookings are designed to provide increased manufacturing capacity to support the growing demand for our products,” said Joaquin Delgado, Executive Dice President of 3M’s Health Care Business Group. “In addition, these capital investments improve 3M’s efficiency and productivity, expanding the company’s already significant exports from South Dakota."

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to grow 3M's health care manufacturing footprint in Brookings,” said Ann Getting, Plant Manager for 3M Brookings.

The latest expansion at 3M’s Brookings plant involved partnerships with the State of South Dakota, City of Brookings and Brookings County. The City of Brookings will provide a sales tax rebate in addition to Brookings County, providing a property-tax discount over five years. Both the state and the city approved the government incentives.

The $57.6 million expansion is part of a broader $70 million investment that was facilitated through South Dakota’s Reinvestment Payment Program created last year, Brookings officials explained. 3M Brookings will get a sales tax rebate on equipment and building construction materials, as well as funds to assist with job training costs.

The expansion at 3M Brookings will be the largest bricks-and-mortar addition to the plant since 1991. The first phase of the project, approved in August 2013, included $11.7 million for high-tech equipment and committed to adding 29 new jobs from 2014 to 2015. 3M Brookings was the first company to qualify for a tax refund under the state’s reinvestment fund, officials said.